Aaron Neville

Aaron Neville
Aaron Neville in concert, 2007
Background information
Born	(1941-01-24) January 24, 1941 (age 76)
Origin	New Orleans, Louisiana, United States
Genres	R&B, soul, country, gospel, jazz, pop
Occupation(s)	Singer, musician
Instruments	Vocals
Years active	1960–present
Labels	Par-Lo, Curb, A&M, Chordant, EMI, Burgundy
Associated acts	Neville Brothers, Linda Ronstadt
Website	aaronneville.com

Aaron Neville (born January 24, 1941, New Orleans, Louisiana, United States) is an American R&B singer and musician. He has had four Platinum-certified albums and four Top 10 hits in the United States, including three that went to #1 on Billboard's Adult Contemporary chart. His debut single, from 1966, was #1 on the Soul chart for five weeks.

He has also recorded with his brothers Art, Charles and Cyril as The Neville Brothers and is the father of singer/keyboards player Ivan Neville. Of mixed African American and Native American heritage, his music also features Cajun and Creole influences.

The first of his singles that got airplay outside of New Orleans was "Over You" (Minit, 1960). Neville's first major hit single was "Tell It Like It Is", released on a small New Orleans label, Par-Lo co-owned by local musician/arranger George Davis, a friend from school, and band-leader Lee Diamond. The song topped Billboard's R&B chart for five weeks in 1967 and also reached #2 on the Billboard Hot 100. It sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc. It was not the label's only release, as some sources claim. At least five other Par-Lo singles, three of them by Neville himself, are known to exist.

A remake of the song was a top 10 pop hit for the rock group Heart featuring Ann and Nancy Wilson in 1981.

In 1989, Neville teamed up with Linda Ronstadt on the album Cry Like a Rainstorm, Howl Like the Wind. Among the duets recorded for the disc were the #1 Grammy-winning hits "Don't Know Much" and "All My Life". "Don't Know Much" reached #2 on the Hot 100, and was certified Gold for selling a million copies, while the album was certified Triple Platinum for US sales of more than 3 million.